Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife

Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl Fife (18 April 1731 – 17 April 1811) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

Duff was born on 18 April 1731. He was a son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and, his second wife, Jean Grant. Among his siblings were brothers James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife and Arthur Duff (MP), Arthur Duff, MP for Elginshire (UK Parliament constituency), Elginshire. His sister, Hon. Helen Duff, married their father's cousin, Vice Admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Robert Duff (Royal Navy officer), Robert Duff. Before his parents' marriage, his father was married to Lady Janet Ogilvy (a daughter of the James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater, 4th Earl of Findlater).

His paternal grandparents were merchant William Duff of Braco, Perth and Kinross, Braco and the former Helen Gordon (a daughter of Sir George Gordon, Shire Commissioner in the Parliament of Scotland). His maternal grandparents were Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet and the former Anne Colquhoun (a daughter of Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, 5th Baronet).

Career

Upon the death of his elder brother, James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife, James, in 1809, he succeeded to the title of Earl Fife. In addition to that title, he succeeded as the 3rd Viscount Macduff, Viscount MacDuff and the 2nd Baron of Scottish Feudal Barony of MacDuff, MacDuff.

Personal life

On 17 August 1775 he married Mary Skene (1754–1790), daughter of George Skene, 18th of Skene, Aberdeenshire, Skene, at Carriston, Angus.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume V, page 378. Together, they were the parents of two sons and four daughters, including:Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 1426.

* James Duff, 4th Earl Fife (1776–1857), who married Lady Maria Manners, daughter of John Manners (MP), John Manners and Louisa Tollemache, 7th Countess of Dysart, in 1799.
* The Hon. Alexander Duff (British Army officer), Alexander Duff (–1851), who married Anne Stein, daughter of James Stein and sister to John Stein (MP), John Stein, MP for Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency), Bletchingley.
* Lady Jane Duff (1780–1850), who married Maj. Alexander Francis Tayler in 1802.
* Lady Anne Duff (d. 1829), who married her cousin, Richard Wharton Duff (who inherited Orton, Moray, Orton House from their Arthur Duff (MP), Arthur Duff), in 1809.
* Lady Sarah Duff (d. 1811), who married Daniel Collyer in 1807.

Lord Fife died on 17 April 1811 at Duff House in Banff, Scotland, Banff. He was succeeded by his eldest son, James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, James.

Descendants

Through his second son, Alexander, he was a grandfather of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife, who married Agnes Duff, Countess Fife, Lady Agnes Georgiana Elizabeth Hay (a daughter of William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll and Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll, Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence, an illegitimate daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom, William IV), and George Skene Duff, an MP for Elgin Burghs (UK Parliament constituency), Elgin Burghs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, Alexander Duff, 3rd Earl
1731 births
1811 deaths
Nobility from Aberdeenshire
Earls Fife, Alexander
Duff family